OT: Lakers gonna suck

[Wizard Mentor]

"The Lakers won't win free agency." Players don't want to play with Kobe.

And don’t forget the fascinating case of Ramon Sessions. He was the toast of the Lakers for a brief spell -- and when he reached free agency there was every chance he could have returned as the Lakers’ starting point guard.

Instead he declined the Lakers' offer and opted to become the backup point guard for the Charlotte Bobcats, who were coming off the worst season in league history. Sessions has never expressed the slightest hint of regret.

 

[julius]

The franchise is by any measure one of the strongest in sports, and here's a crazy statistic: Since beginning life in Minneapolis in 1948-1949, the Lakers have never gone more than eight years without making the NBA Finals. To keep that streak alive, they'd need to make it back in the next five years. The race is on.

Not that what he said wasn't impressive none the less...but it was more than 8 years between 1991 and 2000.

 

[Natebishop3]

If I was LA, I would drop Kobe and go hard after LeBron next summer. It's pretty clear that Bryant is not going to be the kind of guy that accepts his aging process and struggles with his diminishing star over the next few years. Dude needs to go, but the only player who would be worth it to LA to cut ties with Kobe would be LeBron.

Watch the Lakers win the lottery and draft Wiggins.

Sign LeBron.

Cut Kobe.

 

[THE HCP]

That would be crazy to see Kobe in another team's jersey.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

It's not just Kobe that hurts the Lakers. Other teams can offer the same amount of money (or more) with a better tax rate in that certain teams state.

 

[Natebishop3]

That would be crazy to see Kobe in another team's jersey.

They've shown that they will happily cut a star loose in favor of a younger and better star.

They did it to Shaq.

 

[Strenuus]

Lakers will purposefully tank.

Stern will get them the #1 pick.

It's already there.

 

[maxiep]

LeBron will join the L*kers and bring another superstar with him. Book it.

That kind of carpetbagging is why I will always hate that franchise.

 

[Natebishop3]

LeBron will join the L*kers and bring another superstar with him. Book it.

That kind of carpetbagging is why I will always hate that franchise.

I'm already calling it. LeBron and Wiggins will be Lakers by the start of the 2014/2015 season.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Why would LeBron choose LA? Why not stay in Miami, ask Wade and Bosh to take major paycuts, and then add a player like Demarcus Cousins to that team?

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Lakers will purposefully tank.

Stern will get them the #1 pick.

It's already there.

Stern wont be the commissioner for next years draft.

 

[e_blazer]

If I was LA, I would drop Kobe and go hard after LeBron next summer. It's pretty clear that Bryant is not going to be the kind of guy that accepts his aging process and struggles with his diminishing star over the next few years. Dude needs to go, but the only player who would be worth it to LA to cut ties with Kobe would be LeBron.

Watch the Lakers win the lottery and draft Wiggins.

Sign LeBron.

Cut Kobe.

The Lakers wasted their amnesty on Metta World Peace instead of Kobe and his massive salary. He's a Laker at least until his contract is up.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I don't have a crystal ball, but....
I can't see the Lakers cutting Kobe or tanking.

 

[Draco]

The Lakers wasted their amnesty on Metta World Peace instead of Kobe and his massive salary. He's a Laker at least until his contract is up.

So 8 months?

 

[Strenuus]

Stern wont be the commissioner for next years draft.

You really think he won't have any say on rigging this league? He is addicted to doing it, he won't stop just because he's not commissioner.

 

[Draco]

I'm already calling it. LeBron and Wiggins will be Lakers by the start of the 2014/2015 season.

Ok I'll take you up on that. I'll bet ya $100 and give ya 2 to 1 odds. There is no way LeBron has interest in going to a rebuilding team that is terrible enough to get the #1 pick. LeBron would be viewed as a mercenary player jumping from team to team; his legacy is important to him. He probably wins a title this year and we have never seen a finals MVP leave as a free agent. But if somehow they don’t win and he leaves Miami I could see him having interest in his hometown of Cleveland to finish what he started. Kyrie Irving is a much better player today than an unproven rookie Wiggins. You think a 30 year old LeBron in his prime wants to wait around for a rookie?

 

[Draco]

LeBron isn’t going to the Lakers and the team won’t be bad enough for one of the top lottery picks.

Just like the Bulls of 2000 or Mavs of 2011 Lakers management has been overconfident and arrogant believing they are primarily responsible for the team success instead of the players. Players didn’t like Jerry Krause rhetoric, they didn’t like the Mavs parting ways with guys who just won a title and they don’t like Jim Buss believing he has more acumen than Phil Jackson. The team will have to compete in free agency with teams that have multiple draft picks still on underpaid rookie contracts. Yet the Lakers will have to pay full market price for all of their acquisitions.

Now in 4 years maybe the Lakers have some assets and can sign away a stud free agent. LA is a city with much more allure than most. But right now as a Laker hater I am ecstatic because that team has zero hope of contending in the immediate future.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Blazer fans spending this much time talking about the L*kers makes me want to barf.

"Lock this bullshit thread down!" - HomerLovesCausingPanic

 

[chris_in_pdx]

That kind of carpetbagging is why I will always hate the NBA

FTFY

 

[Natebishop3]

LeBron isn’t going to the Lakers and the team won’t be bad enough for one of the top lottery picks.

Just like the Bulls of 2000 or Mavs of 2011 Lakers management has been overconfident and arrogant believing they are primarily responsible for the team success instead of the players. Players didn’t like Jerry Krause rhetoric, they didn’t like the Mavs parting ways with guys who just won a title and they don’t like Jim Buss believing he has more acumen than Phil Jackson. The team will have to compete in free agency with teams that have multiple draft picks still on underpaid rookie contracts. Yet the Lakers will have to pay full market price for all of their acquisitions.

Now in 4 years maybe the Lakers have some assets and can sign away a stud free agent. LA is a city with much more allure than most. But right now as a Laker hater I am ecstatic because that team has zero hope of contending in the immediate future.

I think you underestimate LeBron's ego. He won his two championships with the Super Friends, but I think he'd be down to return the storied franchise to its state of glory. He wants to cement his legacy, so he needs to win one somewhere other than Miami. Possibly back in Cleveland, or maybe somewhere else. I just don't know if I see him going back to Ohio. There's a lot of bad blood there.

 

[illmatic99]

You guys talk about LA like they're actually relevant now. This team will be led by a rapidly declining Gasol, decrepit Nash, and a chucker in Nick Young for much of this season. Who cares about them?

That said, their longest finals drought ever is shorter than our active playoff series win drought. ugh. Is 01-present the worst stretch in POR history?

 

[illmatic99]

Possibly back in Cleveland, or maybe somewhere else. I just don't know if I see him going back to Ohio. There's a lot of bad blood there.

I just read this book last weekend. He ain't going back to CLE.

 

[Natebishop3]

I just read this book last weekend. He ain't going back to CLE.

Ouch...

 

[Draco]

You guys talk about LA like they're actually relevant now. This team will be led by a rapidly declining Gasol, decrepit Nash, and a chucker in Nick Young for much of this season. Who cares about them?

That said, their longest finals drought ever is shorter than our active playoff series win drought. ugh. Is 01-present the worst stretch in POR history?

Well its the longest active drought in the NBA. Surprising we have as many fans as we do.

 

[KingSpeed]

The Lakers wasted their amnesty on Metta World Peace instead of Kobe and his massive salary. He's a Laker at least until his contract is up.

Kobe's contract is up next summer.

Lakers will be decent this year. Better than most think.

 

[maxiep]

I have gotten comfortable with the fact that the L*kers never stay bad for long. And when I expect them to be bad, they're almost always better than I think they'll be.

Man, I effing hate that team.

 

[Natebishop3]

I have gotten comfortable with the fact that the L*kers never stay bad for long. And when I expect them to be bad, they're almost always better than I think they'll be.

Man, I effing hate that team.

I think most of my hatred for teams like the Yankees, Knicks, and Lakers originates with the fans. They are so entitled. They think every player wants to take a paycut to play for them, they spread from city to city like a virus, and they are so used to being coddled by the refs that they whine like no tomorrow when a call goes against them.

 

[maxiep]

I think most of my hatred for teams like the Yankees, Knicks, and Lakers originates with the fans. They are so entitled. They think every player wants to take a paycut to play for them, they spread from city to city like a virus, and they are so used to being coddled by the refs that they whine like no tomorrow when a call goes against them.

Bingo. I came to the Blazers naturally (growing up in PDX), but my love for the Skins and Red Sox are primarily due to my hatred for the Cowboys and Yankees. Of course, now the Skins and Red Sox both spend and act like the Cowboys and Yankees, so I may have to switch again.

 

[Natebishop3]

Bingo. I came to the Blazers naturally (growing up in PDX), but my love for the Skins and Red Sox are primarily due to my hatred for the Cowboys and Yankees. Of course, now the Skins and Red Sox both spend and act like the Cowboys and Yankees, so I may have to switch again.

Yeah...... Red Sox fans, and New England/Boston fans in general, are quickly achieving supreme douche status.

The Cubs are always available though...

 

[illmatic99]

I think most of my hatred for teams like the Yankees, Knicks, and Lakers originates with the fans. They are so entitled. They think every player wants to take a paycut to play for them, they spread from city to city like a virus, and they are so used to being coddled by the refs that they whine like no tomorrow when a call goes against them.

Don't get that sense from NYK fans at all. There's a fine line between whiny and passionate, and they're more like us than LAL fans.